


Whiskey Lullaby

by Boy_on_Fire



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alcoholism, Angst, Background characters - Freeform, M/M, Suicide, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-09
Updated: 2013-05-09
Packaged: 2017-12-10 20:37:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/789912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Boy_on_Fire/pseuds/Boy_on_Fire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry Styles was hopelessly in love with his fellow band member, Louis Tomlinson. After too many internet rumors and sightings of the two being far more intimate than two "normal" young males should be, Modest Management assigns Louis Tomlinson a "Beard"; A girl paid to act as his girlfriend in an attempt to clear the air of rumors of a homosexual relationship.<br/>Louis denies his feelings for the younger boy and convinces himself that he is in love with Eleanor Calder.</p>
<p>Harry can't handle seeing the man he loves with another woman, so he drowns his sorrows in liquor. Until, one night, he goes too far, drinks to much, and is lost...</p>
<p>(Based upon "Whiskey Lullaby" by Brad Paisley, Alison Krauss)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Whiskey Lullaby

_"He put that bottle to his head and pulled the trigger..."_

 

Louis sat in front of the antique vanity table in the spare room of Liam and Danielle's home. He was dressed in a sharp black suit. His eyes, red rimmed with bags underneath, were focused on a sheet of paper that sat on the table. The thin page was folded into fourths, one sentence was written on the white sheet. He studied every word, every letter, every curve, every molecule of ink. He deserved this punishment, he told himself. This was he fault. He had caused this and he deserved to suffer for such an unforgivable crime. As the salty tears pricked at his eyes, burning them, there was a soft tap on the door.

Liam opened the door, dressed in the same suit Louis was donning. "It's almost time, Lou." Liam's voice was somber, filled with such pure sadness. Louis sat on the plush stool and continued to stare at the note in front of him. " _I'll love him until I die."_ The words, written in pitch black ink, stared back at him, blaming him, condemning him. _"This is all your fault,"_ voice in his head whispered. _"You killed him, Louis. Your own best friend, dead. Because of you."_ The tears spilled over the edges of Louis' eyelashes, patting on the ancient wood of the vanity table. Liam slowly walked to his friend's side and reached for the paper. "Don't look at this anymore, Louis. Don't torture yourself."

Louis lowered his hand over the paper, cradling it gingerly. "Don't touch it." His voice was devoid of any emotion. He felt as if he'd never feel another moment of joy in his lifetime. Liam drew his hand back and stuffed it in the pocket of his pleated black dress slacks. He cleared his throat and nodded. "Dani and I will be waiting downstairs for you. Come down whenever you're ready." He laid his hand on Louis' shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. Louis stroked the folded sheet lovingly. Liam turned and exited the room. As the door gave a soft click, Louis closed his eyes and remembered the day the world had come to an end.

* * *

That day was a day like any other. Louis had started his morning by making Eleanor and himself a cup of tea and settling down to watch the news. Eleanor sat on the couch beside him, reading some fashion magazine. After a few moments had passed, his mobile phone rang. The called I.D. stated that Liam was calling him, which was unusual. The boys never bothered him so early in the day. "Hey, Li, what's up?" Louis said into the phone. "There's been an acc-" Liam choked on his words. "There's been an accident." Louis could hear sobbing in the background. He immediately bolted upright in his seat. "What d'you mean and 'accident?'" Louis' voice rose an octave due to fear. Eleanor looked up from her magazine. "Is everything all right?" She asked, hardly sounding concerned. Louis held up a hand to silence her. "Liam? Hello?" His voice shook. "Harry, He's...He's dead." Louis felt the heat drain from his body. His eyes glazed over, staring at the wall in front of him. Surely, he must be having a horrid nightmare. "Ni-" Liam choked back a sob. "Niall found him. This morning. He went to his flat and he was..." Liam began sobbing. Louis carefully set his phone down and walked toward the front door of his and Eleanor's flat. "Where're you going?" She shouted after him. He ignored her as he picked his keys out of the bowl he kept on a stand by the door. After shrugging on his jacket, he stepped outside.

Louis drove to the house Danielle and Liam had recently purchased. Niall's Range Rover was parked in the drive, along with Liam and Danielle's vehicles. He opened the door to his own car and walked up the few porch steps to the door. He knocked on the door and Liam immediately answered. "Louis..." His eyes were ringed with bright red. Louis shoved past him to find Niall and Danielle crying on the couch. Danielle was cradling the blonde Irishman's head on her breast, stroking his hair. She looked up at Louis when he entered the room. Her eyes were also red from crying. A single tear slid down his cheek before she returned to comforting her boyfriend's friend. Louis turned to Liam. "Tell me this is some kind of sick joke." His voice broke as he said it. "Please, tell me this is a sick joke, Liam!" He raised the volume of his voice.

Liam slowly walked closer to his friend. "Harry was holding this when Niall found him." Liam handed a small, folded sheet of paper to Louis. He looked from the paper to Liam, confusion crossing his face. He slowly unfolded the paper and read the words. " _I'll love him until I die."_ It was Harry's handwriting. Louis clasped a hand over his mouth and fell back in an armchair. He read the words once more. They became blurred and illegible as tears filled his eyes. He screamed into his hand. His screams startled Danielle and Niall, causing them to jump apart. He screamed once more. He screamed for what felt like hours, until his voice became hoarse.

Harry was gone and it was because of him. He had killed his best friend.

* * *

Liam, Zayn, Niall, and Louis stood beside the freshly dug hole that would become the final resting place of their best friend. Dark clouds rolled overhead, threating to burst and douse the cemetary. Louis stared at the large portrait of Harry that was held on an easel, wreathed with flowers as a preacher went on about how Harry was "in a better place" and how Harry wouldn't have wanted them to be shedding so many tears. Harry's sister, Gemma, took the place of the preacher beside her brother's casket. She looked over the crowd gathered around to see her brother off. "Today, I look out and see so many faces. I see friends of my brother's," She gestured toward Nick Grimshaw and others associated with him. "I see family," She gestured toward her mother and various other members of their biological family. "And I see the people who mattered most to him." She turned to look at the remaining members of One Direction. "You all meant something to my brother, Harry. You loved him and he loved you." Louis felt his heart twist in pain and lump rise in his throat. "Having you all here today means the world to the Styles family. It's like having a little piece of him with us." She whispered, placing her hand on the casket. She laid a crimson rose on the glossy wood container that held the body of her beloved brother before walking back to her mother, embracing her tightly. The two women burst into quiet sobs.

Louis couldn't bear to look at Anne. He couldn't bear to see the look on her face. How dare he stand here, only feet away from the mother of the boy who had died because of him.

"What the fuck is _she_ doing here?" Niall's voice rang out, causing a wave of silence to sweep over the congregation. Every person in attendance turned to look where Niall was gazing. Eleanor stood a few feet away from the congregation, donning a short black dress and dark sunglasses. Louis turned to Niall. "Eleanor knew Harry, too, Niall." He said, somberly. Niall took a step forward. "She has absolutely no right to be here!" His voice rose in volume. "Harry is _dead_ because of that _whore!"_ Niall spat the last word, eliciting shocked gasps from the crowd. The blonde man lunged forward, but Zayn and Liam had each grabbed an arm, holding him back. "You took Louis away from him! You killed him, you fucking slut!" Niall stuggled against his friends' hold on him. He broke into angry sobs. "If you ever come near my friends, I'll fucking murder you!" He screamed. He writhed as Zayn and Liam dragged him away from the funeral. The crowd began to dissipate as the casket was lowered into the cold earth.

Anne, Gemma, and Louis were the only ones to remain. Anne gingerly grasped a handful of soil in her fist, kissing the back of her hand and whispering "I love you." before letting it slip through her fingertips into the earth. Gemma did the same. After they had gone, Louis walked up to the grave, peering down at the casket. He could see where Anne and Gemma had tossed their handfuls of dirt. Louis picked up his own handful and let it slip through his hands, landing beside the soil Harry's family had deposited. "I loved him, too," He thought to himself. "Goodbye, Harold."

* * *

Months had passed since Harry's death. Rumors flew about Niall's outburst at Harry's funeral. Insane rumors that Eleanor had actually murdered Harry, rumors that Niall had officially outed Harry and Louis as a couple, even rumors that it was all an elaborate plot to eliminate previous rumors about Harry and Louis' relationship. Management could not control the rumors any longer and had officially stated that One Direction would be on permanent hiatus. They would no longer be performing or writing new songs. They were finished.

Louis had continued to stay in the guest room at Danielle and Liam's home. They did their best to cheer Louis up, but their attempts were unsuccesful. Louis had entirely lost his passion for life. He stared at Harry's note for hours, never moving. He wouldn't get out of bed, he wouldn't eat, he wouldn't even shower.

Danielle had awoken earlier than Liam and decided to prepare breakfast for him and Louis. She tiptoed down the stairs and began to prepare a meal for her boyfriend and his friend. She filled a mug with warm tea and took it upstairs. She padded across the hardwood floor and tapped on Louis' door. It creaked open and she peeked inside. "Louis?" She pushed the door open and stepped inside. Something was wrong. She walked across the room to Louis' bedside. He was pale and there was vomit and spit on the bed.

The mug fell out of her hands, shattering on the floor. Tea and ceramic shards splashed across the floor. "Liam!" She called out. She grabbed Louis wrist and felt for his pulse. She touched two fingers to his neck. She felt nothing. "Liam!" She screamed once more, sobbing. She heard the door to their room fly open and slam into the wall. Liam raced into the room and saw his girlfriend crouching on the bed beside his friend. "I can't feel his pulse, Liam. I can't feel anything." He pulled her close and picked up Louis' phone from the bedside table and called for an ambulance.

Liam sat the phone down. There was a crumpled piece of paper in Louis' hand. He pulled it from Louis' tight grip and smoothed it out.

Harry Styles was beaming up at him from the glossy surface of the photograph.


End file.
